It was the best time to shine and Arnaud Démare understood it perfectly. The Groupama-FDJ sprinter sent a message with a view to participating in the Tour de France (1 to 23 July) by winning the Brussels Classic this Sunday. Démare, already victorious in 2017 of what was once Paris-Brussels, beat Denmark's Tobias Lund Andresen and Belgium's Jordi Meeus in the sprint.
The three-time France champion (2014, 2017, 2020) was part of a group of 23 strikers that included other sprinters (Biniam Girmay, Bryan Coquard, Tom Van Asbroeck, Clément Venturini) but not the Belgian Tim Merlier, one of the favorites of the day.
Winner of the second stage of the Boucles de la Mayenne a week ago, the Picard signed the second success of the season. The one that arrives at the best time. "I was not at my level at the beginning of the season," admitted the Milan-San Remo winner in 2016. But I'm building up the pressure. There, I feel that it's gone, "he added, probably to Marc Madiot, with a view to a selection for the Tour de France he hopes to compete.
Perhaps motivated by his recent fatherhood - "I kiss my wife and my little Margaux", he said at the finish - the native of Beauvais (31) was attentive when the decisive breakaway took shape halfway through the race. "It left very early, we had to be present. Especially on this new course more rugged than in the past, "he explained before analyzing what he called: a complicated sprint.
From now on, Marc Madiot knows that he will have to decide quickly when unveiling his selection for the Grande Boucle between a team totally devoted to its leader David Gaudu (4th in 2022) or a formation also aiming for stage victories in the sprint, with Démare therefore. Even though Gaudu had confessed, at the beginning of the season, some enmities with him. The final choice is still not decided, and this also concerns the possible presence of Thibaut Pinot. Démare, who is approaching the milestone of 100 victories in professional, gives in any case some guarantees to his team.
